Nigel Farage has set out how a Reform government would tackle what he called “uncontrolled illegal migration” – with moves including human rights law changes, and mass deportations. The party is proposing to create secure facilities to hold 24,000 to be deported every month, which would cost about £12bn. Reform says it will build them for less by creating “modular accommodation” in remote parts of the UK. The plan involves creating new laws to fast-track people into detention and removal from the UK, but it has been tried before and failed. The courts found that accelerating failed asylum seekers through to removal was unlawful. The challenge for Reform is how they deal with the fact that everyone has a right to be heard. One approach would be to say that it does not apply to immigration cases, but that would inevitably face sustained challenge on constitutional principles all the way up to the Supreme Court. Part of Reform’s argument is that it will pull out of three treaties including the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention Against Torture. A Reform government could indeed do so, but it would lead to some thorny legal problems if a lot of other laws linked to both were not unpicked at the same time. The plan also includes paying people up to £2,500 to leave the UK voluntarily, and £2bn to persuade other countries into returns deals.
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